He’s still a couple weeks away from putting on skates and getting back on the ice, but Detroit Red Wings rookie forward Jan Mursak is progressing from a severely broken ankle that happened in the preseason.

(...)

“It’s going pretty good,” Mursak said after working out in the Wings’ weight room Saturday morning at Joe Louis Arena. “Every day it’s a lot better and I can do more stuff. There’s still certain things that I can’t do, yet hopefully in the next couple weeks I can get better and get back on the ice and start skating.”

(...)

“I was lucky,” said Mursak, who made his debut with the Wings last season and played 19 games with Detroit. “It was kind of … on the line between surgery or not. I had to ask a few more specialists for ankles to see if I’d need one, but in the end I didn’t need (surgery), and it’s good because my recovery … it’s a lot shorter than it would be with surgery.”

(...)

His last cast came off two weeks early, but Mursak doesn’t want to jump the gun in setting a timetable for a return – which doctors initially said would be around Christmas time in December.

“It just takes time to stretch that ankle now because it’s so stiff,” Mursak said. “We’ll see in the next few weeks how it goes. It’s still healing. It doesn’t hurt as much anymore. It’s just stiff and we have to stretch that out.”

Mursak looks like a promising prospect, but he flat out has insane speed. His speed was the reason for this injury, and unfortunately I see him making the same move over and over again. Try to rush the net beating the defenseman on the outside, one little slip up at that speed and it can be very dangerous.

Mursak looks like a promising prospect, but he flat out has insane speed. His speed was the reason for this injury, and unfortunately I see him making the same move over and over again. Try to rush the net beating the defenseman on the outside, one little slip up at that speed and it can be very dangerous.

Anyone who has had his injury: will his speed be sacrificed due to the injury? That was really his major use for the team at the time of the injury.

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Anyone who has had his injury: will his speed be sacrificed due to the injury? That was really his major use for the team at the time of the injury.

I didn't have this injury, but there is a friend of mine who is a grinding forward who hurt himself in high school that had almost a carbon copy injury his senior year. He was centered the second or third line. After he came back, he was just as fast as he was before the injury. The problem is that until it heals fully, you are constantly feeling that you have to test it. My friend said he came back too soon, and he spent 2-3 weeks playing tenative hockey instead of getting his nose dirty like he used to before the injury.

Fast forward to today, he is playing club hockey down in Chicago.

In short, it isn't like a knee injury. The key is to make sure you are healed 100% before you come back.

Nice to hear that his recovery is going well. Don't rush it though Jan, take your time, your speed and energy will be important down the stretch as as few of the guys start to tire.

As for the talk about how this will effect his eped, Kopitar badly injured his ankle (worse than Jan) late last season, and he's never looked quicker nor has he played better. He's a young kid, I'm sure he'll be back to his speedy self soon after he returns.

"It’s still healing, feels strong, isn’t hurting any more," Mursak said. "I do almost everything except running or jumping. I still can’t put much weight on my toes, but it’s getting better every day."

The fast-skating forward doesn’t believe the injury, sustained in a preseason game Sept. 25, will affect his play.

"I don’t think it will affect my speed," Mursak said. "It’s just an ankle. The speed doesn’t come really from the ankle, it comes from your thighs and legs. So I don’t worry about that."

Mursak looks like a promising prospect, but he flat out has insane speed. His speed was the reason for this injury, and unfortunately I see him making the same move over and over again. Try to rush the net beating the defenseman on the outside, one little slip up at that speed and it can be very dangerous.

Errr... it's not like he's the fastest player to ever lace 'em up. I'm sure we can look across the NHL and make the assumption that the fastest skaters don't suffer from chronic ankle injuries on account of the scenario you've outlined.

Mursak got hurt in a freak accident. I'm sure he's beat defencemen the same way hundreds of times before without spraining his ankle.

Errr... it's not like he's the fastest player to ever lace 'em up. I'm sure we can look across the NHL and make the assumption that the fastest skaters don't suffer from chronic ankle injuries on account of the scenario you've outlined.

Mursak got hurt in a freak accident. I'm sure he's beat defencemen the same way hundreds of times before without spraining his ankle.

From my limited experience of watching Mursak, it just seems to me that he doesn't have the balance at high speeds to survive in the NHL. Or maybe he just isn't quite strong enough. I am excited to see what he can do when he comes back, but I also have some doubts.

“It felt good to just cruise around and get back into it,'' Mursak said. "It feels pretty good, no pain, it’s just that I need to get comfortable with my ankle and all of the moves that you need to do.

"I was just doing some circling around, no stops-and-starts. I started doing some tight turns and it felt pretty good, so we’ll start doing more in the next few days and we’ll see how it goes.”

Mursak doesn't think he'll accompany the team on its three-game trip that starts Friday in Buffalo. He'll stay home and continue skating and hopefully join the team for practice when it returns.

“I actually feel pretty good just cruising around, but I need to get back into hockey shape,'' Mursak said. "I’ve been working hard in the gym the whole time that I was injured, but the ankle still needs to get back into hockey shape to be totally ready. I’d say that I’m probably about 50-60 percent ready.”

Be very interesting to see what he provides when he comes back. Obviously he's fast, but will he be physical and smart with the puck. He was good in limited time last year, hope he can become a fearless fast guy like Helm and just fly around throwing his stick at the puck. If he can provide a Helm like presence perhaps with better touch around the net then hell, get him in the line-up when hes ready to go!

Fantastic news, getting closer and closer until Jan the Man is back in the line-up!

Be very interesting to see what he provides when he comes back. Obviously he's fast, but will he be physical and smart with the puck. He was good in limited time last year, hope he can become a fearless fast guy like Helm and just fly around throwing his stick at the puck. If he can provide a Helm like presence perhaps with better touch around the net then hell, get him in the line-up when hes ready to go!

He's so much like Helm, and I'd love to see Jan on Helm's wing, their speed would cause nightmares for opposition defences. I think Mursak's got slightly less speed, but better hands and playmaking abilities. But we shouldn't expect too much too soon, he is a rookie and he's had a lengthy layoff.

Fantastic news, getting closer and closer until Jan the Man is back in the line-up!

He's so much like Helm, and I'd love to see Jan on Helm's wing, their speed would cause nightmares for opposition defences. I think Mursak's got slightly less speed, but better hands and playmaking abilities. But we shouldn't expect too much too soon, he is a rookie and he's had a lengthy layoff.

To be expected of course with such a layoff, a little physicality and speed on the forecheck for the first little while works for me

-So he hopes to return in 2-3 weeks.
-He may or may not get a conditioning stint in GR, which probably depends on how many Wings forwards are healthy.
-Then he'll need some NHL games to get up to speed and in good NHL shape.

How long until he's in solid NHL shape? I'm thinking he'll definitely need a set of NHL games to re-adjust himself.

I'm excited to get Jan back in the lineup and hope hes on the wing with Helm and ABdeklader. Mursak plays VERY similar to Helm. Not quite as quick but still will be the second fastest on this team and throws his weight around with a bit of grit too.

That line would be pure hustle and energy, lay the body and chip in offensively

SAGINAW — With the benefit of hindsight, Jan Mursak can see the positive in what at the time seemed like an unlucky injury at an unlucky time.

But after two months of rehab, Mursak can see the benefits of two months of strength training and physical therapy in Detroit.

“Things happen for a reason,” Mursak said. “In the time that I’ve been injured, I’ve been working on my strength in the gym and stuff. It was good for that, but I hope it won’t be too tough to get back on the ice.”

Mursak said he started skating 10 days ago, and hopes to make his return to the NHL in two weeks.

I wonder whether Mursak will step straight back into Detroit, or whether the Wings will give him a week or 2 of conditioning in GR. Probably the latter. Sounds like he's been working really hard on gaining strength during his layoff.